Introduction to Animal Behavior

Question 1

Altruistic behaviors

Answer 1

reduce the fitness of an individual by
helping another’s fitness (for the good of the species/ group selection) TRUE ALTRUISM IS AN ILLUSION

Question 2

Proximate

Answer 2

(immediate) how an animal’s
physiological system makes a
behavior possible

Question 3

Ultimate

Answer 3

(adaptive value) evolutionary lens, understanding
things through multiple generations

Question 4

Pre-1800s view

Answer 4

behavior was: immutable, variations are imperfections, earth is millions of years old,. fossils went extinct long ago, and new species are created from scratch

Question 5

Behaviors that benefit the masses could evolve if

Answer 5

selfish individuals go extinct more often than populations of altruistic ones. (ex chicken groups that are less aggressive are more successful because they share food)

Question 6

Why has copulatory suicide evolved
in redback spiders?

Answer 6

Found that is increased the amount of sperm transferred to the female

Question 7

Eusocial

Answer 7

an extreme level of social organization with a caste system where a few individuals or one produces the offspring (queen) while the others (sterile workers) care for the brood, seek out food, and protect the
colony. – workers are being altruistic (ex. ants, bees, termites)

Question 8

Adaptionist Approach

Answer 8

• Start by assuming that animals are well-adapted
  to their natural environment.
• Come up with a hypothesis to explain why a particular trait has evolved through natural selection.
• Create an experiment and collect data to test predictions made by the hypothesis.
• If the data do not match the predictions, modify the hypothesis. This is a powerful approach, but it also has some
  pitfalls.

Question 9

Why do burrowing owls place cow
dung around their burrow entrance?

Answer 9

Baiting hypothesis: dung attracts prey

Question 10

Adaptive Behavior

Answer 10

– a behavior that increases the fitness of the individual performing it, relative to a nearby alternative.

Question 11

Maladaptive Behavior

Answer 11

– a behavior that reduces the fitness of the
individual performing it, relative to a nearby alternative. (A DARWINS PUZZLE)

Question 12

Male Infanticide

Answer 12

Most often to ensure paternity. Ex. Male Lions

Question 13

Female Infanticide

Answer 13

Rarer in mammals.
* Harsh environments where there are few resources available or competition
is fierce.
* Situations where a female has more babies than she can care for, or if the
offspring are unlikely to survive.
* Females may attack the offspring of rivals to ensure more resources for their
own young.